The Rent Veil

Horatius Bonar illustrates how God, working through his son Jesus Christ, tore the veil between the believer and the heavens - allowing the two to connect directly, with no mediation.

Bonar draws a poignant contrast by first examining how religion ensued in the Old Testament, wherein a priest would act as an intermediary between believers and their Lord. He establishes how the temple hung such a veil between the faithful and God, before going on to discuss and describe the veil both in symbolic and physical terms. We learn how the temple itself became the symbol of belief, rather than any direct conduit between believer and Lord.

The arrival of Christ and the Gospels resulted in great change. As famously stated in the Book of Matthew 27:51: "Behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.". Bonar interprets this phrase as meaning God himself, working from above, rent the veil in two by appointing Jesus Christ as his representative on Earth.

Following the emergence of Jesus as the voice of God, several relevant passages can be found regarding the Jewish temple. The Messiah wished that the temple be destroyed, that the believers could themselves form the new one, that their closeness with God be eternal. The spilled blood of Jesus, which would forever define the new church, would itself act to draw God's believers closer to Him for eternity.

Born to a family of preachers in Scotland, Horatius Bonar spent his life in the service of the church. Mostly remembered for his prolific output of hymns, many of which are sung to this day, Bonar also wrote several books on topics important to Christians.